A Different Side To The Potter Line
by Lullaby-Dream-24
Summary: Cassidy Potter moves back to England after leaving for America when she was a baby. Only now she has a big secret that very few people are allowed to know, and receives a few surprises when she enters Grimmauld Place. Follows Cassidy more than Harry.
1. Chapter 1

As the plane landed at the London airport, Cassidy Lily Potter felt nervous. She knew that she had to do this. She just didn't want to. Her whole life, she had been safe and secure and loved. Now, she was forced to leave her home to live with people she didn't even know.

They betrayal of her Uncle Michael and his family hurt her deep down, even though she didn't show it. They loved her, she knew that, but sending her away to a new home was not normal for them.

As Cassidy was leaving the terminal, she caught sight of a tall, thin man with tawny colored hair, and golden eyes. He was holding up a sign with the name 'CASSIDY LILY POTTER' in capital letters on it.

Sighing, Cassidy made her way over towards the man. She held out her hand as she introduced herself.

"Hello. I'm Cassidy Lily Potter. You are, sir?"

"I'm Remus Lupin, Miss Potter. Let's gather your bags and be on our way, shall we?"

Cassidy nodded as she lead the way to the baggage retrieval, trying to recall where she had heard his name before.

Once they were outside, a tall, black man stood next to a Rolls Royce, looking around, as if checking for danger. Getting into the car, Cassidy noticed a woman with short, funky magenta hair in the driver's seat, and a man who greatly looked as if he had other things to do that were far more important.

As the car drove off, Cassidy broke the silence.

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on? Uncle Michael said very little about this whole thing. By the way, my name is Cassidy Lily Potter. What are your names?"

The black man answered first.

"I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but please just call me Tonks or Dora."

The other man wasn't pleasant when he answered, even going as far as to turn around and glare at Cassidy.

"My name is Severus Snape. I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts. Lupin is your guardian, and the other two are Aurors."

A admiring sparkle appeared in Cassidy's eyes.

"You teach Potions? How wonderful. I simple adore Potions. It's my favorite class. I even got an Outstanding on my Potions O.W.L. In fact, I got eight Oustandings and four Exceeds Expectations."

Remus looked impressed.

"What classes did you get 'Exceeds Expectations' in?"

"History of Magic, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies."

Kingsley shared a look with Remus.

"What about your eight Oustandings?"

"Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes."

Silence took over the inside of the car while the four adults thought about Cassidy's scores. Cassidy, on the other hand, put her ear buds and turned on her iPod, jamming out to one of her favorite songs: Girl All The Bad Guys Wants by Bowling For Soup. Remus, being a werewolf, heard the music before Cassidy turned the volume up all the way, which allowed the other occupants of the car to listen to the music, as well.

After another twenty minutes, the car pulled up next to a park across from several townhouses. Before Cassidy got out of the vehicle, Remus showed her a sheet a paper and told her to memorize the address, and to think of it once she got out of the car.

After thinking for about thirty seconds, Cassidy opened her eyes and saw a regal-looking house that had a gothic theme to it. Following Remus' lead, Cassidy entered the house, with Snape, Tonks, and Shacklebolt behind her. The first thing she saw was darkness, until her eyes adjusted, then she noticed a handsome man with long, wavy black hair standing on the staircase in front of the group.

Under the man's stare, Cassidy became extremely nervous. As he stepped down one stair at a time, Cassidy took a step back towards the door, only managing a few steps before she hit something soft, yet solid. Turning, she noticed that she had backed into Snape. Looking over shoulder, she saw the man still walking towards her, and she began panicking, causing her to hide behind Snape, grasping the back of his robes, burying her face into his back.

That motion caused the mysterious man to stop where he stood and look at his old friend, Remus, with a puzzled look on his face.

Remus shrugged at his friend before turning to walk over by Cassidy.

"Cassidy, it's okay. This is Sirius Black, the owner of this house. Both Sirius and I were friends of your parents when we were in school. Come along, let's get you something to eat and drink."

When Cassidy shook her head and didn't budge, Remus looked at Snape for help. The poor Potions professor looked just as uncomfortable as Sirius with the situation. However, when Snape took a step forward, Cassidy moved right with him, not letting him go, or seeing where they were going.

In the dining room, the Weasley family, along with Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and the rest of the Order, were sitting at the long dining table, waiting for the others to join them. Sirius and Tonks entered the room first, followed by Remus and Kingsley, with poor Snape bringing up the rear, Cassidy still clutching to him as though her life depended on it.

When they saw Snape's predicament, Fred, George, and Ron Weasley, and Harry burst out laughing, with Dumbledore chuckling lightly in amusement.

Cassidy kept her hold on Snape, but moved her face to look at everyone in the room. Her face took on a look of shock when she saw Harry, just like Harry was taken by surprise when he looked at her.

"You look like my father."

"Yeah, well, you look like my mother."

Remus stepped up next to Cassidy while Sirius stood next to Harry, and they said at the same time: "You're twins."


	2. Chapter 2

The dining room was quiet, too quiet to be a good thing. Of course it was just the calm before the storm. As Harry and Cassidy stared at each other, the room became both fire hot and icy cold, though no one knew why. Well, actually, only two people knew why.

Snape and Dumbledore both knew that the reason for the constant temperature change was due to mixed feelings about the 'Harry and Cassidy are twins' thing. The two teens in question couldn't decide if they liked the idea of having such a closely related family member.

Finally, when Snape cleared his throat, Harry broke eye contact with his twin sister and became a nasty shade of magenta, which was the sign that showed he wasn't happy about something.

Harry glared at Snape before he let his anger get the better of him, and then began shouting at the Potions Master.

"If she's my twin sister, than why is she hanging off of you!?!?! Clearly, we're not twins, since she seems attached to you!!"

Cassidy looked at Harry before turning to hide behind Snape again. Remus and Sirius both had to physically drag Harry out of the dining room, and into the study, where they explained the whole thing to him. By the end of the explanation, Harry was still fuming, but no longer that violent shade of red. When the three of them returned to the dining room, they were surprised to see that Snape was allowing Cassidy to cuddle into his side, even though he looked very uncomfortable.

At the moment, Tonks was showing her abilities to Cassidy, who found it only slightly interesting before she said that she had more interest in Potion-making than she did in changing her body's physical appearance.

When Cassidy said that, everyone in the room noticed how proud Snape looked. He had finally found a Potter that was exceptionally gifted when it came to Potions, unlike her brother or father, both of whom had only received 'Exceeds Expectations' on their O.W.L. in Potions.

Since it was almost time for supper, Cassidy nearly begged Snape to stay with them, since she didn't want to be left alone with people she didn't really trust at the moment.

Dinner went by as usual. The Weasley children, along with Harry and Hermione, were laughing at some stupid joke or story, while most of the adults talked about one thing or another. Snape was actually having a conversation with Cassidy, which was surprising, since he usually remained silent during meals. It was really starting to get on Harry's nerves. He wanted to get to know his sister, but she was paying attention to Snape, almost as if he was the only person in the world to talk to.

- - - - -

The library was rather boring in Cassidy's opinion. The adults had sent the students into the library, until the Order meeting was over. Sure, there were plenty of books to read, but none of them were on Potions, which really pissed her off. Hermione was working on her summer homework, while Ginny watched Harry and Ron play Wizard's Chess. The looks that Ginny kept sending Harry's way were beginning to get on Cassidy's nerves. Finally, when Ginny gave up on trying to get Harry's attention, Cassidy noticed that her twin brother was getting his ass kicked, big time, by Ron for the third game in a row.

Sighing, Cassidy walked over and sat down next to her twin.

"I play winner."

That caused the other four in the room to look at her in a funny way, though none of them said anything. As Ron and Harry continued their game for another five minutes, Cassidy observed her brother's methods, and mentally laughed at him. The game finally ended with a brutal defeat on Harry's part, and Cassidy took his place at the table, and as the game began, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione stood next to the table to watch the two teens go head-to-head with determined looks on their faces.

Two minutes into the game, Cassidy looked over at Ron, and noticed that he was smirking at her, clearly thinking that he was going to beat her. Cassidy smirked back, and the game became almost brutal, until finally, after five minutes, Cassidy beat Ron with only two of her guys missing.

The whole room fell silent, as Ron gaped at the board, hardly daring to believe that he had lost, and to a girl!!

The door to the library opened and the adults came in, showing that the meeting was over, but as they approached the table, they froze. The defeated look on Ron's face, coupled with the smug look on Cassidy's, suggested that they had missed a great game of Wizard's Chess.

Harry looked at Cassidy and asked her one question: "How are you so good at that when I'm so terrible?"

Cassidy shrugged before answering.

"I'm president of the Wizard's Chess Club at Salem Academy of Magic in America. Over there, I'm undefeated."

Silence filled the room as Cassidy stood up and stretched. As she looked around the room, she noticed that one person was missing from the group.

"Where's Severus?"

Remus sighed, looking at the floor, knowing that Cassidy would not be happy with the answer.

"He left right after the meeting, saying that he had a lot of stuff to work on at his place."

"He- he left? Without saying good-bye? That's bad manners. Get him back here."

The last sentence was more of an order than a request, and Remus hopped right to it, not wanting his Goddaughter to be any more upset. Using the Floo Network, he fire-called over to Snape's house.

"Severus, are you there?"

A grumble was heard at the other end of the connection before Snape's sour-looking face appeared in front of Remus.

"What is it you want, Lupin? I'm rather busy."

"It's Cassidy. She's a little upset that you left without saying good-bye to her. Actually, 'little' is an understatement. She ordered me to get you back over here."

"And why would I go back tonight?"

"Because you displayed bad manners, in her opinion, and for her, that's unacceptable. By the way, you missed it. In fact, all of the adults missed it, but Ron finally lost a Wizard's Chess game, and it was to Cassidy. Turns out that at her old school, she was president of the Wizard's Chess Club, and undefeated. She's rather upset that you weren't there to looked at her proudly. She seems awfully anxious to make you happy and proud of her."

Snape sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck with one of his hands.

"Perhaps I was a bit hasty in getting out of there. Move over, I'm coming through."

As soon as Snape was back in Grimmauld Place, he found his arms full of an anxious and upset Cassidy Potter. It startled him that he had been missed so much in only ten minutes.

"Severus, I don't want to stay here. I want to stay with you. Please?"

Silence filled the dark home, far more than it had in the past.

Snape sighed, before he nodded.

"Fine. Get your things."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry looked at his sister, confused beyond belief now. Cassidy had practically begged Snape to take her with him to his place. It was just way too hard for him to believe that they were twins.

As Remus showed Cassidy where her stuff had been taken, Harry and Snape glared at one another.

"What have you done to her?"

"I have done nothing, Potter. It's not my fault she feels better with me around."

"She's only known you for five hours. Give her time."

"She's coming with me because she wants to. I'm not forcing her, nor did I ask her to come with me."

After a few moments of silence, Remus entered the room with Cassidy in tow, with the latter keeping close to the wall. As soon as she laid her eyes on Snape, Cassidy visibly relaxed, making it seem like she had been uncomfortable being left alone with Remus.

After everyone said their good-byes, Snape placed his hand on Cassidy's shoulder and lead her out of the library and into the office, where they would be using the Floo Network to get to Snape's home on Spinner's End. Moments after Cassidy exited the fireplace, Snape began giving her a quick tour of his home before taking her upstairs, and showing her where she would be sleeping.

When Cassidy entered the room and shut the door, Snape turned and walked down the hall and to his bedroom, where he began getting ready for bed.

- - - - -

It was almost midnight when the storm started. As the rain pounded harshly on the window, seeming to want to break the glass, lightning lit up the sky, and the thunder made heavy-metal bands seem like school choirs. The second loud clash of thunder woke Cassidy from her deep sleep, causing her to start crying.

It wasn't as though she was afraid of the storm, the loud rumbling from the thunder just gave her a really big headache, like so many other things, like the sound of a train whistle right next to her, or gun shots, or fireworks. The loud noises gave her migraines that hurt enough to cause her to cry from the pain.

Scrambling out of her bed, Cassidy crept out into the hallway, and searched every room, looking for Snape. When she finally located his room, she tip-toed over to his bed, coming to a stop right beside him, staring at him, with her hand raised to shake his shoulder. Before she could touch him, however, Snape began speaking.

"You do know that it's rude to stare at people, right?"

Cassidy jumped a bit before stumbling to the floor. Snape used his wand to light a few candles in his room, so they could see each other.

"I'm sorry I woke you, but I have a terrible headache from the storm."

Snape raised one of his eye brows before reaching into his bedside table and retrieving a vial of headache relief potion. When he looked back at Cassidy, he noticed that her black satin bathrobe had opened a fair bit, showing her black lace negligee. Handing her the bottle, he turned away to look out the window. Sighing, he began speaking to her again.

"If the noise is bothering you, you can sleep in here for tonight. I'll put up a silencing charm to keep out the sound of the storm."

Cassidy quickly thanked him and downed half of the vial before handing it back to him. As she walked around to the other side of the bed, Snape couldn't help but notice the black, low-heel, fluffy slippers she was wearing, and how they made her legs seems longer and thinner.

Quickly shaking such thoughts from his head, Snape reached over and pulled the blankets back so Cassidy could crawl in beside him. Once she was settled, Snape used his wand to blow out the candles before settling back into bed, his back to her. He figured that if he didn't see her there, then his mind wouldn't wander.

That plan changed, however, when only a half hour later, Cassidy turned over and cuddled into his backside, her arm draped over him, and poor Snape hadn't been asleep yet. Just when he thought that things couldn't get any worse, they did.

Cassidy's arm slipped farther down than Snape was comfortable with, and within seconds, Snape's lustful side came to the forefront of his mind. When Cassidy began kissing the back of Snape's neck lightly, he knew she hadn't been asleep since before she came to his room. To make matters worse, Cassidy whispered the words Snape didn't want to hear: "Severus, take me."


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as the words entered his ear, Snape jumped out of the bed, using his wand to relight the candles in the room. When he turned to face the bed, Cassidy wasn't on it. It unsettled him a bit. Either he had been dreaming or she was a lot faster than he was. Suddenly, he felt as through he was being watched from behind, way too close from behind.

Spinning as fast as he could, Snape found Cassidy standing there, a strange look in her eyes. To Snape, glint in her eyes was near to that of hunger or lust. Her mouth curved up slightly into a smirk that would've made him proud if it hadn't been for the uncomfortable situation.

It happened so fast, Snape couldn't possibly tell you what happened. One moment, he and Cassidy were staring each other down, and the next, he found himself flat on his back on the bed, with Cassidy leaning over him.

"Miss Potter, I demand that you stop this behaviour at once, before you do something you'll regr-"

Before Snape could finish his sentence, Cassidy had crashed her lips onto his, forcing her tongue into his mouth. Snape tried to raise his hands to push the girl off of him, but his hands were stuck to the mattress, but how it happened, he didn't know. When Cassidy backed up to let him breath, he glared at her before asking: "Why are my hands stuck to the bed?"

Cassidy just giggled before leaning down to his ear, whispering in a sultry voice: "Wandless magic is so much fun, isn't it?"

A moment later, Snape felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and his blood leaving his body. Alarmed, he used his own wandless magic to push Cassidy onto the floor before releasing himself to check out what Cassidy had done.

When he looked in the mirror, Snape became even paler than usual. The bite mark in his left shoulder was still bleeding, and Cassidy was staring at him like she wanted to eat him. As soon as she stood up from the floor, Snape cast a stunning spell, levitating her onto the bed before leaving his bedroom and locking the door.

Heading towards the stairs, Snape made a quick stop in the bathroom to take care of his wound, the whole thinking about how all Potter's were the same: Nothing but trouble. As soon as he had finished wrapping the bite mark, Snape quickly made his way down the stairs to his fireplace and Floo'd right into Grimmauld Place.

- - - - -

Remus and Sirius were talking with Harry in the library when the fire turned green and Snape stepped out of the fireplace. As soon as the Potions Master noticed the three males, he motioned for them to follow him back through the Floo Network to his home. Confused, the three of them followed him, curious as to what was going on.

- - - - -

The moment Sirius had exited the fireplace, Snape started explaining what happened.

"Everything was fine, until the storm started. Cassidy had gotten a headache, and came to me. I placed a silencing charm on my room, and told her she could sleep in there with me. About a half an hour after I turned out the lights, she started acting really strange."

Sirius, ever the smart one (rolling eyes), interrupted Snape by asking a very obvious question: "What do you mean by strange?"

Remus and Harry both glared at Sirius, as though trying to mentally tell him that Snape was going to explain the whole thing.

"By strange, I mean she started molesting me. After I got out of bed, I realized she wasn't in it anymore. She moves very fast. She pushed me back onto the bed and used wandless magic to hold me to the bed. She forced me to kiss her, and then she bite my shoulder, hard. It's still bleeding."

Remus jumped up and asked Snape to show them the bite mark, which he did, reluctantly. The werewolf couldn't believe his eyes.

"Severus, she didn't just bite you. She marked you as her mate. That's a werewolf bite mark."

Harry turned a deathly shade of white.

"But, then, that means…"

"She's a werewolf, yes. What did you do with her, Severus?"

"I stunned her and locked her in my room."

Remus nodded and followed Snape up the stairs, with Sirius and Harry right behind him. All of them were extremely nervous. Despite the fact that he was a werewolf himself, Remus had no idea how to deal with this situation.

Firstly, Cassidy wasn't a member of his pack, and therefore, he wasn't her Alpha. Secondly, she had obviously been turned less than a year before, so she was stronger than he was. Thirdly, she was female, and he had never dealt with a female werewolf before. Lastly, she had marked Snape as her mate, and therefore the presence of him, Harry, and Sirius would cause her to become insanely protective of Snape and fight them.

When the group reached Snape's bedroom door, they all took out their wands, and took a deep breath, before Snape through the door open. Remus was right: Cassidy was going to attack them.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment the door opened completely, Cassidy launched herself at Remus, Sirius, and Harry. Pulling his wand out, Harry tried using a stunning spell on his twin, but she moved out of the way quickly and knocked him to the floor and the wand out of his hand before he could blink his eyes.

Remus tried using his own werewolf abilities, but since Cassidy was a new werewolf, he was unable to defeat her, and found himself on the floor, with Cassidy on top of him, growling loudly, and ready to gouge his eyes out.

Sirius had been knocked to the floor when Cassidy rushed out of the bedroom, and hit his head on the door frame, knocking him out cold.

Wrapping his arm around Cassidy's stomach, Snape pulled her off of her Godfather and held her close to him using almost all of his strength. Gulping, he turned his head to look at Remus for a bit of help. The older werewolf looked at the floor and shook his head solemnly.

"You have to mate with her, otherwise she'll stay like this and keep fighting with us until you do."

Snape groaned, knowing that Harry would not be happy with this little piece of information. Pulling Cassidy with him, Snape entered his bedroom, closing the door and locking it, and placing a silencing spell on the room. Leading Cassidy over to the bed, Snape kissed her to calm her down a bit before he spoke to her.

"We both know what we have to do, though I'm not too thrilled with it at the moment."

Cassidy was silent now, the werewolf inside knowing that their mating would be complete within the hour. A purr could be heard coming from the girl as she reached up to undo her satin robe and kicked off her slippers, which made Snape even more nervous.

Extinguishing the candles until only two were still burning, Snape began taking off his own bathrobe and pajamas, leaving him standing only in his black cotton boxers. As the two crawled under the bed covers, Snape dimmed the candlelight even more. Both parties were shaking slightly; Cassidy from excitement, and Snape from nervousness.

With Harry's help, Remus dragged Sirius down the stairs and into the sitting room, where they would wait for the other two to join them later. True to Snape's prediction, Harry was not pleased with what was going to happen between his twin sister and Snape.

As the fire crackled softly in the fireplace, Remus sighed and turned to look at Harry.

"Harry, I know that you don't like what is about to happen, but trust me, it's necessary if we want to get Cassidy back to normal. Without the mating, Cassidy will stay that way. Unless you want her attacking everyone that is around Severus, this has to be done, whether you like it or not, Harry."

Glaring into the fire, Harry nodded slightly, knowing Remus was right. A soft moan interrupted their thoughts as Sirius began to wake up. Looking around, confused, Sirius asked what had happened, and Remus filled him in on the latest development, to which Sirius did not take kindly to.

Cassidy curled up against Snape's side, purring contently for the moment, as Snape ran a hand up and down her back, willing himself to become excited.

"You're trying, but it's hard for you. Turn to your side and relax, like you're going to sleep."

Nodding, Snape turned so that his back was facing Cassidy, like how they had been after the storm started. Clearing his mind, Snape began to relax. He nearly fell asleep, until fifteen minutes later, Cassidy wrapped her arm over him again and moved her hand down his front side, causing his lustful side to wake up again, just like it had earlier.

This time, Snape didn't panic or fight. When a hand reached the bulge in his boxers, he moaned slightly before turning to face Cassidy.

Cassidy licked his lips lightly for a moment before leaning in to kiss him, which caused Snape to feel a slight pulsing in his nether regions. Growling slightly out of impatience, Snape rolled on top of Cassidy and attacked her neck with his lips. Giggling lightly, Cassidy responded to Snape's lips by rolling her hips into his, and tossing her head back to offer him more of her skin.

Now fully erect, Snape wiggled his way out of his boxers and removed the lacy black thong Cassidy was wearing before settling himself between her legs, preparing to complete their mating. As Snape pushed into Cassidy's warm , wet opening slowly, Cassidy gasped and moaned 'Severus' before they set a steady pace, causing them both to start panting.

Two sets of moans mingled in the air around the room, and for a while, the fact the Snape was older enough to be her dad and that she was a week away from turning sixteen left their minds.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry was getting extremely nervous and restless. Snape and Cassidy had been in the bedroom for nearly three hours now, doing Merlin knows what. Sirius had fallen asleep an hour earlier, and Remus was looking through one of the many Potions books Snape had in the house.

Standing from his seat on the couch, Harry began pacing in front of the fireplace, turning his face to scowl at the flames every few minutes. After half an hour of pacing, Harry was finally able to relax when he heard the stairs creak under the weight of two people stepping on them at the same time.

As he turned to face the doorway if the room, Cassidy walked in, with Snape right behind her, looking ready to crash for the night. Remus put the book back where he had found it before going over to the armchair to wake Sirius up. Once everyone was awake and seated, Cassidy began apologizing for how she had acted earlier.

"Normally, I wouldn't've acted like that, but since I'm a werewolf, it just happens. I'm calm now, but I'm truly sorry for any damage I might've caused any of you. I really don't remember what happened after I bit Severus on the shoulder. Severus told me that I knocked Sirius out on my way out of the room, physically disarmed Harry and knocked him to the ground, and tackled Remus. Why did I go stright for Remus when I had two others in line before him?"

Remus cleared his throat and looked Cassidy right in the eyes.

"Since I'm also a werewolf, you felt that I was the biggest threat when it came to Severus. I didn't fight back, just tried pushing you off me, for three reasons: one, you're still a child; two, you've only been a werewolf for less that a year, so you would've won; and three, you're my Goddaughter. I'm not supposed to let anything happen to you."

Cassidy sat in silence for a few minutes before leaning back to cuddle with Snape, who looked a little uncomfortable. Harry snickered lightly but stopped as soon as Snape glared at him. Remus was looking into the fire, a pensive look on his face. Sirius couldn't take the silence anymore, and thought he'd lighten the mood by making a joke.

"So, Snivillus finally got laid. Never thought I'd see the day."

Bad move, on Sirius' part.

A moment later, Snape was on his feet, wand in hand, ready to curse Sirius, but Cassidy stood up and put a hand on Snape's arm, shaking her head.

"Maybe you all should return to Grimmauld Place. Severus and I are going to retire for the night. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

Cassidy lead Snape back to the bedroom as Harry, Remus, and Sirius used the Floo Network to return to Sirius' family home.

In the bedroom, Cassidy turned to face Snape.

"I'm sorry for what happened tonight. I didn't know of any other werewolves back home, so I wasn't prepared for this. If I hadn't been bitten back on Christmas Eve, I wouldn't've behaved like that."

"No, if you hadn't been bitten, you wouldn't've been sent over here. Lupin wasn't able to take you after your parents were killed because he was a werewolf, but now that you are a werewolf as well, he gets to have custody of you."

Cassidy looked at the floor and nodded before heading towards the door.

"Good night, Severus. I'll see you in the morning."

As she turned the doornob, Snape put a hand on her shoulder.

"Under the circumstances, you'll be staying in here with me. I mean, in werewolf terms, we're kind of married. Don't married people usually sleep in the same bed?"

"Unless their mad at each other, yes. Tonight, though, I'm mad at myself for what happened, werewolf nature or not. I'll see you tomorrow."

Cassidy quickly left Snape's room and return to the room she had been given. The storm had died down after Snape had returned from fetching Remus, Sirius, and Harry, so she'd be able to sleep soundly for the rest of the night, which would only be about four hours. Extinguishing the lights, Cassidy crawled into her bed and rolled to face the wall, silent tears leaving her eyes. She never felt more ashamed of herself than she did now.

Snape crawled into bed, hoping to fall asleep quickly, but for some reason, sleep was evading him tonight. He had been lying awake for almost an hour when the sandman finally let him fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Cassidy entered the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate, and found a mug already made for her on the table. Frowning slightly, she picked it up and headed into the living room where she found Snape sipping on a mug of coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. Clearing her throat to announce her presence, Cassidy moved to sit across from the man that she was, in werewolf terms, married to. Snape looked up and put aside the paper so that they could talk.

"I had a feeling you would want some hot chocolate to drink. It's what I drank in the morning after I had a distressing night when I was your age. How are you feeling this morning?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Cassidy stared into the fire, trying to untangle her thoughts. When she had gone to bed, she had been upset. Now, she was more ashamed that upset. What happened last shouldn't've happened until later. Like after graduation later. Her world had been turned upside down before she even realized it was going to change.

"I'm a little mad at myself, still, but that will come to pass after I come to terms with what happened. I'm sorry for what I did, and forced you to do. I'm sorry for how a reacted to Remus' presence. I'm sorry for everything I've done in the past fourteen hours. I'm so-"

"If you say you're sorry one more time, I'll have you locked up in the mental unit at St. Mungo's Hospital. I mean it. What happened last night was because of the werewolf inside you. Nothing more, and nothing less. Just get over it, like I have. It's already in the past, so forget about it and move on. I don't want to hear the words 'I'm sorry' from you if they're about what happened last night."

Cassidy looked down at the floor and nodded. She couldn't help but feel guilty over her actions. Someone could've been seriously hurt, or killed, because of her. Because of what she was. It wasn't fair to the people around her. She never wanted to hurt anyone, and yet, she had almost killed her Godfather last night simply because he was there. That thought made her want to cry. She was a dangerous creature, not fit to be around other people. Especially those that she cared about, like her brother.

Snape noticed that Cassidy still wasn't convinced. He knew that she wouldn't be able to get it out of her mind without hearing it from Harry, Remus, and Sirius. Even then, she would probably keep it at the forefront of her mind. She had to have her mother's stubbornness. It was then that Snape really noticed that Cassidy looked exactly like Lily, only with James' eyes. It was the opposite of her brother, who looked like their father, with their mother's eyes.

"You should hurry and get ready. We have to be at Grimmauld Place in an hour. Please, try not to looked so much like Death warmed over. It's not a good look for you."

Cassidy smiled slightly before getting up and heading to her room. Before she could leave the room, Snape spoke up again.

"You'll also be moving into my room tonight. I let you have last night, with great difficulty on my part. I couldn't fall asleep. I tried not to go down to your room, which I nearly did, but I knew that you needed some space. I don't to hear any arguments from you tonight on the subject."

Cassidy nodded quickly and rushed out of the room before Snape could stop her again.

As he watched her leave the room, Snape sighed as her thought back to the girl he had met the evening before. It didn't seem like the same girl at all. Sure, yesterday, she had been rather quiet, but today she was almost a mute. To be honest, it disturbed him. Yes, he liked silence, but with her, the silence was filled with a stifling tenseness that was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Rising from his chair, Snape took his coffee mug into the kitchen and returned to his room to get ready to go to Grimmauld Place.

In her room, Cassidy sat on her bed fighting back tears, trying to appear strong, something she normally had no problem doing. When she turned her gaze to the clock on the wall, she noticed that she had been in the room for nearly twenty minutes already.

Sighing, she rose from her bed and moved to her trunk to get her clothes out for the day.

Yesterday, she had been wearing black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt that had faux-paint splatters in neon colors, and black and white checkered flats. Today she would be wearing a black and white checkered mini-skirt with a green vest top that had silver buttons on it. Her shoes wear going to be the same as the day before.

She was just finishing up with her hair and make-up when Snape knocked on her door. As he opened it, Cassidy stood up from the desk in front of the window and walked over to him, a haunted smile on her face. She still looked grim, but at least she didn't look like Death warmed over anymore.

"Cassidy, I'm sorry if I had been a bit harsh this morning. I'm not used to having anyone hear with me, and I deal with students every day at school. I'm always harsh with people, so don't hold that against me."

Cassidy looked him right in the eyes and nodded. She knew he wasn't the social type. Reaching around Snape, Cassidy grabbed her black bag and motioned for him to lead the way down the stairs to the fireplace.

As each of them grabbed some Floo Powder, Snape motioned for Cassidy to go through first, which she did, hesitantly, and Snape followed right behind her only moments later.


	8. Chapter 8

Grimmauld Place was chaotic, to say the least. Molly Weasley had gotten up during the night to get a glass of milk when Harry, Sirius, and Remus exited the fireplace. In her loudest voice she had begun questioning them about their whereabouts and had woken up the rest of the house, including the portrait of Sirius' mother.

Harry and Sirius had cowered in the corner while Remus calmly explained what had happened. After he finished, the house was silent, except for the muffled screams of the late Mrs. Black. Cassidy was a werewolf, Snape was her mate, and Remus was the only one in the Order who could teach Cassidy the ways of a werewolf, even though they weren't in the same pack, technically.

Nobody had gotten any sleep for the rest of the night. All of them were too busy thinking about how this changed everything in the war with Voldemort. They had just found out that Cassidy was the older of the twins by five minutes, and the prophecy had clearly stated 'the first born as the seventh month dies', meaning Cassidy, even though Harry had been marked, since Voldemort hadn't known about the girl.

It was a few minutes before nine in the morning when the fire in the fireplace turned green and Cassidy came out, not even fazed or covered in soot, like Harry usually was. Only seconds after she moved out of the way, Snape emerged, lightly dusting off his black robes before looking up to face everyone in the room.

"Yes? Is there something you all want, other than to piss me off?"

Remus stepped forward and whispered into Snape's ear, knowing that Cassidy would be able to hear with her werewolf hearing.

"Molly spotted us as we returned from your home. Her screeching woke everyone up. They all know about last night."

Both Cassidy and Snape paled. Neither had wanted the Order to know yet. Now, it seemed almost like Judgment Day for the two of them. Molly stepped forward and raised her hand to either slap Snape or shake her finger at him and scold him like she would with her own stepped in front of Snape and glared at Molly, daring her to try anything.

"I am a recently mated female werewolf. I don't feel threatened with any of you around Severus, but if you even attempt to harm him, I will have to take action. I assume Remus told you all about what happened when they opened the bedroom door last night? (Everyone nodded.) the only one with enough strength to have a chance at surviving a werewolf attack is Remus, and against a werewolf that's less than a year old, he'd hardly survive. Don't piss me off."

Cassidy continued to glare at Molly, who finally backed down. By now, the portrait of Sirius' mother had finally quieted down, leaving the house in an eerie and uncomfortable silence. The only sound in the room, apart from breathing, was the low growl that started coming from Cassidy. Harry, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Hermione had enough sense to back away, knowing that if there would be an attack, it would be bloody.

Severus placed a hand on Cassidy's shoulder, causing the girl to calm herself down a bit. When Cassidy turned to looked at him, Snape leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"That's enough. They're all just a little shocked right now. Give them some time."

Cassidy nodded before stepping back so that she could hide behind her mate again.

"Someone's coming up the stairs."

A few moments later, Albus Dumbledore entered the room, looking every bit of an overly energetic grandfather. The moment he spotted Cassidy behind Snape again, he sighed. Walking over to the duo, he extended his hand to shake Snape's, but before he could grasp it, Cassidy starting growling menacingly at the elderly headmaster. Taken aback, Dumbledore looked between Cassidy and Snape, trying to figure out what had just happened. As if answering to an unasked question, Snape spoke.

"Headmaster, Miss Potter is a werewolf, less than a year old. I am her mate. She's extremely protective of me. You'll have to excuse her behavior."

Dumbledore back away a bit, nodding his head. He had a feeling that something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. No person in their right mind would become so attached to the surly Potions Master in such a short amount of time. But a werewolf who discovered its mate would be instantly drawn to them.

Clapping his hands and smiling, Dumbledore announced that it was time for breakfast, and hurried everyone out of the room, leaving Cassidy and Snape behind to give them a few minutes of privacy.

Snape turned to face Cassidy only to see that the girl had put her head down in shame, her shoulders shaking, and soft sobs coming from her. Placing his fingers under her chin, he tilted her face up to look at him. He saw tears in her eyes, and on her cheeks. As quick as he could, Snape pulled her to him, and held her close, trying to calm her down.

"You're still getting used to being a werewolf. It's gonna take time."

"I-I know, but it's so hard for me. I used to be able to jinx a person and not feel sorry, but now, I can't help but feel ashamed of what I am."

A knock on the door caused the two to look up. There in the doorway stood Harry, Remus, and Sirius. Whether he liked it or not, Snape was a part of this make-shift family. By werewolf law, Harry was now his brother-in-law. Sirius was Harry's Godfather, and Remus was Cassidy's Godfather. And this family was going to be Cassidy's support group, no matter what.

In the kitchen, Molly hurried about, trying to make breakfast before Cassidy and the other four came into the room. She had just finished making wild-berry muffins when Harry entered the room first, followed by Sirius and Remus, and finally Snape, who was trying to console a crying Cassidy, but to no avail. Snape was the first one to speak.

"I think I should take Cassidy up to the room that had been set up for her. She's not up for seeing anyone at the moment. I'll be back down in a little while to get her some breakfast. She's not hungry at the moment."


	9. Chapter 9

Snape sat in a chair by the door, watching as Cassidy pummeled a standing punching bag that Snape had conjured for her. She had only been hitting it for about ten minutes but it looked as though she had been at it for an hour or more. Snape had told her that if she broke anything or tried hurting herself, he'd tie her to the bed and leave her there. The punching bag saved the room and anyone who was brave enough to enter the room.

A knock on the door distracted the room's occupants for a moment before the younger of the two went back to beating up the bag. Snape stood up and opened the door a crack to see who it was. On the other side of the door stood Harry, Remus, and Sirius. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Cassidy was far enough away from the door, Snape granted the three males enterance into the room.

The moment the door closed completely, the punching bag went flying across the room and slumped on the floor next to chair that Snape had been sitting in. Snape, Harry, Remus, and Sirius turned to look at Cassidy, who still had her leg in the air. Apparently, she had just kicked the punching bag across the room.

"Heh. Uh, sorry. My bad. Just getting rid of some of my frustration. As you can see, the room is still in order. Nothing's broken or ruined."

Sirius chuckled weakly, looking over at Remus, who was trying to calm his heart back down. The punching bag had just narrowly missed him. It would've scared anyone to death. Harry moved to grab the punching bag and drag it back to where his sister stood, red in the face and sweaty from her little workout.

"You know, there are other ways of getting rid of your frustration than using violence. Sirius and Remus are taking me for a walk in an hour. We're going into the woods. There are different trails to take. Wanna come with us? We can bond and it'll help to release your stress."

Cassidy looked over at Snape, an unsure look on her face.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Harry. I'm not stable at the moment. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"

Harry nodded his head. He knew that she'd keep her promise, even if she had a massive hangover and was throwing up.

"I'm ready to eat, Severus. Just hot chocolate and a muffin for now. I'm not big on breakfast. I'll eat more for lunch. I promise."

Snape nodded his head and left the bedroom, leaving Harry, Remus, and Sirius to keep an eye on Cassidy, who had moved to sit on the window seat and look out at the garden below. The silence in the room wasn't uncomfortable, but the ringing in Harry's ears was.

"I hear that you got an Outstanding in Potions. I only got Exceeds Expectations. Snape has a habit of picking on me in the class. I'm not very good at Potions. I'm actually surprised that my grade was that high."

Cassidy turned to face her brother, an amused look on her face.

"Harry, Potions is easy if you can compare it to something you know how to do. Tell me, do you know how to cook?"

Harry looked confused for a moment, but then he realized that his twin had a point. Potions was like cooking: if you want the recipe to turn out right, follow the directions to the letter, or you'll have just wasted a bunch of time and made a mess.

"Yes, I know how to cook. I never realized before how much like cooking Potions is. Thanks for helping me realize that. I'm sure I'll do better this year. Snape only allows students that have Outstanding in Potions, but this year, he's got Defense Against the Dark Arts. We have a retired teacher coming back this year, as a favor to Dumbledore. And he accepts students with Exceeds Expectations."

At this bit of news, Cassidy looked crest fallen. She had been excited to show off her Potion-making skills to Snape, but now she wouldn't be able to.

Snape entered the room with a large tray for the two of them, plus tea for the other three. He noticed the look on Cassidy's face and realized that she was ready to start crying again.

'_Man, her moods are all over the board. They change so fast. I can hardly keep up with them.'_

"Okay, what did I miss?"

Remus looked over at Harry then back to Snape.

"Harry let the cat out of the bag about the staffing this year. Cassidy's upset now."

Groaning, Snape set the tray on the bedside table and walked over to Cassidy and pulling her into a tight embrace, all the while glaring at Harry. After a few minutes Cassidy became quiet, and pulled away from her mate to go sit on her bed.

"Sorry. I don't know why I'm so emotional today. Severus, can you pass me a plain cup of tea? Thank you."

After drinking all but the dregs at the bottom of the cup, Cassidy looked in to see what her tea leaves had to say. As she studied her cup she noticed three shapes: bells, a butterfly, and a triangle. The stunned look on her face caused the four males in the room to fidget nervously.

"Um, I see bells, and that means good news. There's a butterfly, and that's happiness. And then there's a triangle, which means an unexpected event. So the way I figure it, there's been an unexpected event that's happened, which will lead to good news, and that will bring happiness."

Harry flopped into his chair, looking at his sister, stunned. Remus looked at Cassidy as he remembered what she had said the day before.

"You said that you had gotten Exceeds Expectations in Divination, right? (Cassidy nodded.) How did you not get an Outstanding?"

Cassidy looked down at her tea cup, and blushed out of embarrassment.

"I had a fair bit of trouble with the crystal ball. That's how. Harry, let me read your tea leaves. I think that if I leave it to you, you'll botch it up. I heard that you received a Poor grade in your Divination O.W.L."

Harry nodded his head lightly and passed his cup to his twin. Clearly, she got their mother's brain, so of course she was going to get better grades.

"Hmm, let's see. There's a balloon there, which means that your troubles are lifting. I also see a goose. Harry, keep an eye out for an invitation. Oh, what's this? Why, I do believe that is a guitar! That means that there is a romance on the horizon for you, dear brother. And this appears to be a key, which means that you'll be unveiling a mystery soon, Harry."

Cassidy handed her brother his cup back and stood up, heading over to where her punching bag stood. Before she was half-way there, Cassidy gasped quickly and fainted, falling to the floor, with Harry catching her only a second before her head hit the wood floor.


	10. Chapter 10

Remus and Sirius stood back in shock while Harry and Snape rushed to Cassidy's aid. Her eyes had rolled back into her head just before she closed them, and her skin was paler than Snape's, if that were even possible. Her breathing was slower than normal, but it was still even. She felt as though she had just contracted the flu, because her body temperature kept flashing between hot and cold. One moment, she was sweating profusely, and the next, she was shivering like crazy.

Harry turned to face Sirius and Remus, panic showing in his eyes and voice as he spoke.

"Sirius, go fire-called St. Mungo's let them know that there's an emergency and that we're on our way. Remus, go let the others know what has happened."

Nodding, the two wizards left the room as quick as they could, one heading into the study and the other continuing down to the kitchen.

Harry helped Snape lift Cassidy onto a stretcher that the elder wizard had just conjured up. Together, they made their way down to the study while the rest of the house's inhabitants were heading up to the same room. Grabbing a hand full of Floo powder each, Harry and Snape stepped into the fireplace, Cassidy still between them, and yelled '_St. Mungo's!_' at the exact same moment.

In a whirl of green flames, the trio vanished from Grimmauld Place and arrived in the lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital. A witch at the reception desk spotted them and motioned for two Healers to help get Cassidy up to one of the private suites, where they would be taking care of her. Harry and were asked to sit in the waiting area and fill out some necessary paper work.

Half an hour later, Remus and Sirius came through the doors into the waiting room, closely followed by the Weasley family, Hermione, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, and Professor Dumbledore. Remus reached Harry and Snape first.

"How is she? Is she alright? Have they said anything about what could've caused her to just faint like that?"

Harry shook his head, while Snape answered the questions Remus had asked.

"We don't know how she is. The Healers haven't been out to tell us anything yet. They took her to a set of private rooms and had us sitting in here filling out paper work."

Sighing, the rest of the group sat down to wait for a Healer to tell them what was wrong with Cassidy. And hour went by, then another, and another. Finally, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, a Healer came into the waiting room.

"Excuse me. May I speak to Harry Potter, please?"

Harry stood up and walked over. He knew the reason why the Healer asked for him and not Remus or Severus. Even though he wasn't an adult yet, he was Cassidy's only immediate family, and had the right to know first, and that telling the others was his decision.

"Mr. Potter, has your sister been, uh, sexually active, do you know?"

"Just last night, that I know of. Why?"

"It's very strange, if last night was her first time."

"What's wrong with my sister? Is she okay?"

"She's pregnant, Mr. Potter. You're going to be an uncle. Congratulations. You may going in and see her, if you want. She's awake and eating right now. (Healer shudders.) I strongly recommend that only four of you go in at a time. We don't want her stressed out."

Harry nodded his head and thanked the Healer. Turning to walk back over to where the others sat waiting for him, something clicked in his head. Severus Snape was going to be a dead man as soon as he was left alone with Harry.

Remus stood up and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders.

"Is everything okay with Cassidy?"

"More or less. She's pregnant."

Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, and Tonks all squealed with happiness, huddling together to plan a very early baby shower.

Snape looked like he was going to faint, and Sirius and Remus were both stunned. Snape knew that Cassidy had been a virgin the previous night, since there had been a small blood stain on his sheets and the inside of the girl's thighs. It was common knowledge that signs and symptoms of pregnancy didn't show up until two to four weeks after conception, so why did they show up less than twelve hours after the mating?

Harry lead the way into Cassidy's private suite, with Remus, Sirius, and Snape right behind him. On the rolling bedside table, a large mug of hot chocolate sat next to a large bowl of chocolate ice cream covered in strawberry syrup, banana slices, and something that looked like raw bits of hamburger. Cassidy had obviously started having weird food cravings. The moment she spotted her brother, her two 'uncles' and her mate, Cassidy's mouth broke into a very wide grin.

"I know what you're all thinking, but don't worry. Yeah, it was an unexpected event, but having a baby is good news. I don't think I could be any happier. By the way, someone's going to have to pick up an outfit and my make-up for me. The Healers want me to stay here for observation tonight, since this such a strange pregnancy."

Smiling, Cassidy turned her attention back to her very strange ice cream sundae.

Snape left the suite and returned to his home to gather Cassidy's make-up and her outfit. Looking through her clothes, he noticed that she had every color known to man on either a black article of clothing or a white one.

He finally decided on a black, long-sleeved shirt with a pink, purple, and blue butterfly on the front of it, a pink, purple, and blue pleated mini skirt to match, a pair of black, knee-length leggings, and a pair of black ballet flats that also had pink, purple, and blue butterflies on them.

Upon returning to the hospital, Snape noticed that, except for Harry, Remus, and Sirius, the rest of the Order had gone back to Grimmauld Place. As he looked at the clock, he noticed that it was almost time for supper, and the end of visiting hours for the day. Entering the room, he saw that Cassidy and Harry were playing cards, and that Sirius and Remus were watching the twins interact.

"Cassidy, I brought you clothes for tomorrow, as well as your make-up. We'll come and get you around lunch time tomorrow, okay? Visiting hours are over now. Good night, Cassidy."

Snape leaned down to kiss Cassidy's forehead and quickly left the room, with Harry, Sirius, and Remus not far behind him. As the headed down to the reception area, Sirius threw an arm around Snape's shoulders and grinned brightly.

"I think this calls for a celebration. Let's go out to eat tonight, Harry's choice."

Sighing, Snape allowed himself to be pulled from the hospital and out into the muggle part of London. It was going to be a long evening, if Sirius Black was in charge.


	11. Chapter 11

Snape entered his home through the front door, having decided that using the Floo Network or apparating home would've been disastrous, seeing as how Sirius had practically shoved bottles of muggle wine down his throat. The poor man ws so tipsy, he was surprised that he managed to get in the first place.

However as he entered his living room, he managed to sober right up the moment his eyes landed on Lucius Malfoy, his wife, Narcissa, and their son, Draco. turning to his right, he saw Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, Rudolfus, and his brother, Rabastan. Feeling incredibly nervous, he looked to his left and spotted Fenrir Greyback standing next to Wormtail. A swish of robes behind him made him gulp loudly before turning around to face Lord Voldemort.

"Severus, I noticed that you weren't at the meeting tonight. Would you like to give me a reason not to use the Cruciatus on you right now?"

Nervously laughing, Snape motioned for Voldemort to enter the living room and have a seat.

"This may come as a surprise, but the Potter's had twins."

Silence met his ears, which encouraged him to continue.

"Harry Potter has a twin sister named Cassidy. She was sent to live with her father's older brother over in America. Until recently, that is. She was bitten by a werewolf back at Christmas, and since it is now the summer holidays, her uncle decided to give her Godfather, Remus Lupin, legal custody of her. According to the laws regarding werewolves, a werewolf can't have a child under their care, unless said child is also a werewolf."

Lucius appeared to be fuming silently, while Greyback looked murderous. Voldemort, on the other hand, looked quite intrigued.

"Cassidy became very attached to me, and practically demanded that I allow her to stay here with me. She came to my room during the storm last night, because the thunder overpowered her sensitive hearing, and gave her a headache that was so painful, she actually started crying. I gave her a headache relief potion and put up a silencing charm in my room. I was allowing her to sleep in my room with me, which was apparently a very bad idea. I'm her mate, and she knew it."

Draco was starting to get frustrated.

"Would you hurry up? We don't need the details. Just the essentials."

"Right. Sorry. This morning, Cassidy read her tea leaves, and just minutes later, she fainted while walking across the room. Harry Potter and I got her to St. Mungo's, where we had to wait about three and a half hours to find out what was wrong with the girl."

"And what's wrong with the child?"

"You know, out of all the books I've read about werewolves, why did none of them mention that when a werewolf conceives, it can be detected and the signs and symptoms show up in less than twelve hours?"

No one said anything for several minutes. Then Voldemort began to speak in a soft voice that sent chills up everyone's back.

"So, you're going to be the father of a child whose mother is a Potter."

Snape nodded. He was so nervous, his palms were sweating like crazy.

Lucius was sitting on the couch, thinking about how this changed the prophecy.

"I've got a question, my Lord. (Voldemort nodded.) if the potter's had twins, which one was born first? The prophecy said 'The first as the seventh month dies.' Which one did the prophecy mean?"

At that, everyone turned to look at Snape, who ha been edging his way towards the living room door.

"Cassidy was born first, but she doesn't know about the prophecy. Please, my Lord, don't hurt her. I beg of you. Just leave her alone."

Snape knew that he was just embarrassing himself, and that if Sirius had been there, he would be laughing. Currently, Voldemort was chuckling under his breath at Snape's protectiveness of Cassidy Potter.

"I'll leave her alone, for now, at least."

"Thank you, my Lord."

"But you still haven't told us why you weren't at the meeting tonight."

"Sirius Black dragged Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, and myself out to a muggle restaurant to celebrate. I wanted to return home to get ready for the meeting but Black dragged me out with them."

"I see. Well, Lucius will stop by sometime tomorrow to fill you in on what you missed. Just be sure you don't miss the next meeting, or else."

Snape nodded as he watch the nine unexpected visitors head out through the fire place. After they were gone, he sighed and headed up to his bedroom. As he passed the room he had set up for Cassidy the night before, he stood in the doorway and thought about how much would change around the house, now that a baby was on the way. As he turned to continue towards his room, he decided that Cassidy's room would be turned into the nursery, since she'd be staying in his room from now on.

Changing into his pajamas, Snape kept thinking about how much his life had changed in only twenty-four hours. Extinguishing the lights, he got into bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep for the first time in nearly five years.


	12. Chapter 12

The kitchen was far too bright, in Severus' opinion. It was seven-thirty in the morning, and he had a lot of work to do up in the nursery, which would have to wait until Lucius filled him in on what had been said at the meeting the night before.

Currently, he was standing in front of the sink, staring out into the back garden, nursing a cup of coffee laced with a hang-over potion. He was barely startled when he heard the fire in the living room make a couple of 'whoosh' sounds, letting him know that Lucius had arrived. The sound of a walking stick hitting the kitchen floor told him that his guest had located him.

As Severus turned to face the elder Malfoy, he saw that his Godson, Draco, had come over as well, and carrying a wrapped box, no less.

"Severus, the Dark Lord is still thinking about this changes everything with his plans. However, he sends his congratulations on the good news, and has even sent a gift for the mother."

Severus' eyes flashed over to the box in Draco's arms before looking up to see the young man's face, which was decidedly uncomfortable, seeing as how the package was wrapped in sparkly pink paper and tied with wide, shiny blue ribbons.

"How very… thoughtful of him. I'll have Cassidy send him a thank-you note. Now, on to the meeting. What did I miss?"

Draco's arms and shoulders dropped a bit towards the floor.

"Would you like to tell me where I can put this gift? It weighs a frickin' ton."

Severus gestured to the counter next to Draco, who sighed gratefully. After getting Lucius and each a cup of coffee, the three sat at the kitchen table, where Lucius filled Severus I on what he had missed the night before. Nearly two hours later, Lucius finally concluded the meeting's information, much to Severus' relief.

"So, that's all I missed last night, then?"

Lucius nodded, getting up from the table. Draco, however, remained seated.

"Father, would it be alright if I stayed here for a while? If it's okay with Uncle Severus, that is."

Lucius looked over at Severus, who nodded his head.

"Of course, Draco, but try to be back at the manor before six o'clock this evening. We have a dinner party to attend tonight."

"Yes, father. Thank you."

Severus and Draco were both quiet until they heard Lucius leave via the Floo Network. Sighing, they both got up and entered the living room. The moment the two males were seated, Severus spoke to Draco in a voice that showed his curiosity, even if his face didn't.

"So, what is the problem this time? I was starting to think that you finally realized that I'm not a therapist to tell all your problems to."

Draco smirked, a small chuckle escaping his throat.

"After you told us who your mate is related to, I couldn't stop thinking about him. For the past year, I thought that I was just interested in him because he was my school rival, and that he was always up to something. Then I decided that it was because he had refused to be friends with me at the start of first year, and I was curious as to what Weasley and Granger had that I didn't. But after what you said last night, about his sister and you being mates, kind of made me realize that I fancy him. I can't let father know. He'd kill me, or disinherit me, or something. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but I'm in love with Harry Potter."

Severus stayed very quiet while he absorbed this information. He had known that his godson liked guys, but the fact that said godson had a thing for his school enemy was puzzling and a bit disturbing.

When Severus didn't say anything for over five minutes, Draco began to get worried.

"Uncle Sev? Are you okay?"

Severus turned to look at Draco. He wanted to say something encouraging to his blonde-haired godson, but nothing would come out, so instead he just nodded.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes before Severus finally found his voice, which Draco was thankful for. He really didn't want to have to alert the wizarding hospital about why his godfather was like this.

"Draco, would you like to help me work on the nursery today? I need to pick up Cassidy from St. Mungo's around noon, and I want to surprise her."

Draco nodded and stood up, waiting for his godfather to show him which room would be the nursery. He knew it would be one of the two spare rooms on the upper level, since the largest was Severus' bedroom, but he was hoping that it wouldn't his room that he used when he was allowed to stay over.

When they reached the door, he sighed in relief. It wasn't his room, but the room closest to Severus', which made sense, seeing as how they would need to be close to the baby when it came.

The two of them worked on clearing out the room first, storing everything in the storage room down near Draco's room. After that was finished, they laid out the drop cloth, which would catch any paint that fell to the floor from the paint brushes or rollers. Severus had decided to go with a light yellow color, since it was commonly used for both infants or either gender. When Severus cast a tempus charm, he saw that it was a quarter to noon.

"Draco, I need to get ready to go get Cassidy. If you want, you can stay here, either work on the nursery, or read down in the living room. I should be back around one o'clock."

Draco nodded and continued working. In the storage room, the two had found what looked like the frame of a crib, which obviously had been Severus' when he was a baby himself. Severus had repaired any broken pieces and left them in a pile for Draco to paint white and put together, if he wanted to.

X X X X X

Cassidy was just finishing up her lunch when Severus entered the room. She had been listening to her brother talking about life with their mother's sister, and was thankful that she wasn't sent there, but felt sorry for her twin, since he had to live with such terrible abuse and neglect. However, the moment that Severus entered the room, Harry swiftly shut his mouth, making Cassidy wonder if none of the Order knew about Harry's life with the Dursley family. It seemed possible, and would explain why their relatives weren't in jail for such atrocious behavior.

"Oh, I was unaware that your brother was here, Cassidy. I can come back in a little bit if you want me to."

"No, that's quite all right, Severus. I'm ready to go home. I want to get started on the nursery, and Harry wants to help. Is that okay with you?"

Severus looked over at Harry for a moment, wondering how Draco and Harry would react to see each other outside of school. Finally, Draco's confession seemed to have made his decision for him. The only way they'd find out if the feeling were returned was if the two were able to talk.

"Of course, it's fine. I'll just go sign the paperwork and get you checked out. I'll see you in the lobby in a few minutes."

Cassidy nodded and waited until Severus had shut the door and his footsteps were fading before she turned back to her brother.

"Your tea leaves yesterday said that there was romance on the horizon for you. Tell me, is there anyone that you fancy?"

Harry looked at the floor, fidgeting in his seat.

"Kinda, sorta, I guess." He mumbled his answer, but thanks to her hearing, Cassidy heard it.

"Tell me who, before we go meet Severus."

Blushing, Harry looked up at his sister.

"I'd rather not, actually. Not here, and not yet, any way."

Cassidy shrugged, knowing he'd tell her sooner or later. As the Potter twins entered the lobby, Severus was arguing with the witch at the reception desk. Harry and Cassidy made their way over to where the two were arguing.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but what's wrong?"

Leave it to Cassidy to be blunt and to the point, yet polite.

"Mr. Snape here wishes to sign your release papers, but since he is not your family or guardian, he is not allowed to do so."

"Actually, I think he can."

"And how do you figure that?"

"You see, I am a werewolf. Severus is my mate. To make a long story short, after last night's mating, he is technically my husband."

The witch looked at her with disbelieving eyes. Cassidy sighed and lifted her shirt up to just under her breasts, showing the witch her bite mark on the left side of her rib cage. Pulling her shirt back down, Cassidy watched as the witch handed the release forms over to Severus, without taking her eyes off Cassidy.

Within moments, the papers were signed and Severus lead the Potter twins over to the large fireplace, where they would Floo back to Spinner's End. As always, Harry lost his balance when they arrived back in Severus' living room, and Cassidy had to grab onto him to steady her brother.

"Severus, which room should we use for the nursery?"

Turning to face the twins, Severus smiled, a very small, barely-there smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I'll show you. Come on."

The trio made their way up the stairs and down the hall to the room that Draco was still working in. The moment Draco spotted Harry, he dropped was he was working on, and squeaked slightly.

"Severus, you told him? How could you?"

"I assure you, Draco, that I haven't told anyone what you told me."

"Then, what's he doing here?"

"He was in the room with Cassidy, and she told me that he wanted to help with the nursery. What was I supposed to do, refuse? Cassidy would've murdered me right there."

Cassidy stepped around her brother, who ran out of the room, and her mate to see what was going on inside the nursery. There, in the middle of the room, was a blonde-haired boy, around her age, a look that was between horror and relief on his face.

"Good afternoon. I'm Cassidy Potter. Who are you?"

Draco stood up from where he was sitting and moved forward, holding out his hand, which Cassidy shook.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well, but if you don't mind, I'm going to go find my brother. I have a feeling I know why he left the room, but I need to make sure."

Cassidy left the room, placing a hand on Severus' arm as she passed him.

X X X X X

"Harry, are you okay?"

Harry nodded. Cassidy had found him sitting in the living room, staring at the fireplace, apparently torn between leaving for Grimmauld Place and staying to help with the nursery.

"I've got a hunch about who you fancy, Harry. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since you ran out of the room when you saw Draco Malfoy in there, I'd have to say it's him the you like."

Harry nodded again, not trusting himself to speak right now. Cassidy moved to sit next to her twin, sighing as she did so. The sound that was heard in the room was their soft breathing.

"Harry, maybe it is and maybe it isn't a coincidence that he's here. He squeaked when he saw you, and he accused Severus of telling you something that he did not want you to find out about. I think he likes you, too. Our Uncle Michael accused me of being too observant for my own good. Severus, it's not nice to eavesdrop, you know."

Harry jumped and turned around as Severus and Draco entered the room, both looking embarrassed.

"Sorry, Cassidy, but we just couldn't help it. Harry was acting strange, and you were acting suspicious."

Cassidy nodded slightly, looking over at Draco.

"Well, I think I've figure out why these two were surprised to see each other, Severus. Just y the general behavior, I managed to deduce that they like each other. I asked Harry and he nodded. Am I correct about you, too, Draco?"

Cassidy, Harry, and Severus were all watching Draco, waiting for his response, which came in the form of a nod. At that Cassidy stood up and walked over to her mate.

"Severus, let's go work on the nursery, give these two some time to talk about this."

Grabbing his arm, Cassidy pulled him forcefully from the living room and back up the stairs. Severus just hoped that when they came back down, the living room was still in one piece.


	13. Chapter 13

_In the living room:_

Harry and Draco stared at each other for several minutes, neither one wanted to be the one to break the increasingly uncomfortable silence. Harry sighed; the silence was driving him crazy.

"You can come and sit down, you know."

Draco snapped back to the present, since he had been thinking about the things he wanted to do to Harry while they were alone. Moving automatically, Draco walked around the couch and sat down a few feet away from Harry.

"So, was what my sister said really true? About you liking me?"

Draco turned his head slightly so that he was looking at Harry out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, she was correct. I told Severus earlier, and I thought he had told you. Severus was the only person I told about my sexual preferences, and who I liked. And Cassidy was right. She is too observant for her own good, but sometimes that not a bad thing. How did she figure out that you liked me back, with the exception of your behavior?"

"Yesterday, before she was taken to the hospital, she read my tea-leaves. Apparently there was a guitar, which meant that there was romance on the horizon for me. I was a bit nervous when I saw you in the nursery. By the way, what were you doing here, anyway?"

"I was helping Severus with the nursery. He asked if I wanted to help."

Harry looked at the floor, nodding his head. 'O_f course he had been helping in the nursery. Why else would he have been in there?'_ Neither said anything for a few minutes, until Draco shifted closer to Harry, settling down when their knees were touching.

"You know, Harry, you have very beautiful green eyes. And they change shades, depending on your mood."

Harry blushed when he felt Draco's hand on his cheek, turning him so that they were looking at each other, Draco leaning in slightly.

_In the nursery:_

Cassidy, whom Severus wouldn't allow to move any of the furniture, told Severus where to put the crib and the changing table, and the old rocking chair, and the small toy box, all of which had been used when Severus was a baby.

Cassidy sat in the rocking chair, watching Severus move the crib to it chosen location, her hands on her stomach, humming slightly to no one in particular. She smiled slightly when she thought about Severus' reaction to the news that she had been given that morning.

Severus moved to clean up the paint cans, brushes, rollers, and paint pans, then the drop cloth when Cassidy stood up and placed a hand on Severus' shoulder.

"I've got some good news. Or at least, I'm sure it's good news."

Severus stopped moving and looked at the young werewolf. When she noticed that he was paying attention, Cassidy continued. "Severus, the healers ran a few more tests earlier this morning, and I'm very excited about the results." Cassidy's smile widened. "We're having twins. Apparently, werewolf pregnancies, rare as they are, progress way faster than a normal pregnancy. The healers figure that I'll be having the babies around Halloween, meaning that a werewolf pregnancy only lasts about three months, which is pretty close to the same length as a regular wolf's pregnancy. And not only are we having twins, but one's a boy and the other is a girl. I'm excited, Sev, I truly am."

Severus didn't say anything for a few minutes. He had just found out the day before that he and Cassidy were pregnant, then, twenty-four hours later, he finds out that they're having twins, and boy-girl twins at that.

He never really thought he would be able to have a family with only one child, but here he was, waiting for the birth of two children.

Looking up at Cassidy, he smiled broadly for a moment, before he realized something, then he frowned slightly.

"Sev, what's wrong?"

"It's kinda stupid, but I just realized that we only have one crib."

Cassidy started laughing. "Then the solution is to get another one. Of course, twins mean we need to buy two of everything."

Severus shook his head, smiling, at Cassidy's thoughts. Yes, twins meant twice the stuff, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

_Back in the living room:_

Harry watched as Draco leaned toward him. He had only had one kiss in his life, and that was a disaster. Of course it had been with a girl, so there was an excuse. But he couldn't help swallow thickly out of nervous habit, and before he could do anything, he felt Draco's lips on his. Soft and supple, like he had thought. After a moment of getting over his initial shock, he began to kiss Draco back, adding bit of pressure to the kiss. His eyes pooped open when he felt Draco's tongue sweep across his bottom lip, asking to be let in for a taste, which he allowed. After a few minutes, the kiss becomes heated, and the two males started gripping each others clothes, like they would a life line to save them from drowning in an ocean.

They broke apart for much needed breath, both red in the face, when suddenly, the fire in the fireplace flared bright green, and Lucius Malfoy stepped out, followed closely by Lord Voldemort.

X X X X X

_Sorry for the short chapter, but I kinda wanted to do a cliffhanger. I did, however, make it to over three pages, which was what I usually do. I appreciate reviews, both good and bad, but take it easy on the flames._


	14. Chapter 14

_They broke apart for much needed breath, both red in the face, when suddenly, the fire in the fireplace flared bright green, and Lucius Malfoy stepped out, followed closely by Lord Voldemort._

X X X X X

Lucius looked around the room for a moment before he noticed his son, and Harry, embraced tightly, both looking extremely flushed and embarrassed. A moment later, his wand was out and trained on Harry, who scrambled over the couch and into the hall, dashing up the stairs to the nursery.

Voldemort had stood there, watching Potter panic with great delight. The boy had faced him several times without much fear, and all Lucius had to do was put his wand in his face, though it probably would've been avoided if Draco and Harry had been sitting and talking from opposite ends of the couch, instead of pressing against each other, making-out.

Lucius lowered his wand and sighed unnoticeably before turning to face his son, a stony expression on his features.

"Draco?"

"Y-yes, father?"

"What did I just walk in on?"

Draco looked down at the floor, suddenly finding the carpet design very interesting. Before he could answer, however, the sound of three people hurrying down the stairs made the two Malfoy's and the Dark Lord turn to face the doorway. The first to appear in the room was Cassidy, her wand out and ready to fight.

"Okay, which one of you put a wand in Harry's face? (Draco and Voldemort both pointed at Lucius.) Well, it would seem that you want to fight with me. Fine, but I'll warn you now, I've never lost a wizard's duel back at my old school. You're just signing your death warrant."

Severus stepped forward and covered Cassidy's mouth, letting her rant and rave into to his hand, though the sound was muffled.

"Sorry about that. She has a mind of her own. And happens to be Harry's older sister. Cassidy is her name, and protecting her family is the game. I'd appreciate it if everyone would just put their wands away, and calm down."

Looking at Cassidy, he noticed that she was breathing heavily, glaring at Lucius. _'If looks could kill, Lucius would be dead a thousand times over. She's shooting daggers at him. I must remember not to piss her off.' _Severus leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Cassidy, calm down. Think of the babies. This, or any kind of stress, is not good for the babies. Lucius obviously didn't send a curse Harry's way, since he managed to get to us without a scratch."

That calmed Cassidy down, but just a little.

"Harry, what were you doing before Mr. Malfoy pointed his wand at you?"

Harry, like Draco, looked down at the floor, both of them looking equally embarrassed.

"Sev, I think they were making-out. The guilty behavior, the embarrassed looks, the silence. Man, Uncle Michael was right. I'm _way_ too observant for my own good. But I am right, aren't I, Harry?"

Harry and Draco both nodded, still not looking up from the floor as they inched closer to each other. Somehow, to Harry, this day was rapidly was going from great to terrible, and he had only been awake for four hours.

Lucius started sputtering. He couldn't believe this. His only heir, his only son, his only child, was a homosexual. It just wasn't possible. It was going to be the end of the Malfoy line.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you shut up or actually say something? You sound like a broken record. And it's getting on my nerves."

Lucius quickly snapped his mouth shut. Nobody said anything for a few minutes, until Severus decided to break the silence.

"Okay, I think I'll go make us all some tea. Please, go sit in the dining room, and talk civilly. If you can't do that, then stay quiet. Cassidy, you come with me."

Cassidy followed Severus into the kitchen while the others silently walked into the dining room. Only moments later, the fire in the living room flared green and Remus and Sirius stepped out, dusting themselves free of any ash.

"Hello! Anyone home?"

"Sirius, there's no need to shout. I'm sure Cassidy, if she's here, heard the fire go off. You just need to-"

Cassidy chose that moment to appear in the living room doorway.

"Hi, Remus. Good afternoon, Sirius. Uh, sorry to say, but bad timing on your part. We've got some other company in the dining room. Before you go in there, here are your options: one, you will sit and be quiet, or two, you will sit and talk civilly. If I see any wands out, or hear any shouting, you will forbidden from coming here again. Is that clear?"

Remus and Sirius both nodded and followed Cassidy out into the hall and over to the dining room, where they got the surprise of their lives: Lucius Malfoy sitting next to Voldemort, across from Harry who was holding Draco's hand on top of the table. Cassidy returned to the kitchen when the two were settled onto chairs.

Sirius glared at the two blondes and the Dark Lord, while Remus kept an eye on Harry's nervous expression.

"Harry, would you like to explain what's going on?"

Harry shook his head; he felt like he was going to throw up if he opened his mouth at the moment. Draco also shook his head when Remus turned to face him. The lack of information was starting to drive Sirius crazy.

"Damn it, Harry! Would you, please, give us some answers?"

Again, Harry and Draco shook their heads. The current silence was golden, thought a bit uncomfortable. And if patience is a virtue, then Sirius was seriously lacking in the 'Virtue' department.

The group suffered in the tight silence for a few more minutes before Severus and Cassidy reentered the dining room, with the former carrying the heavy tray of tea. Cassidy sat next to Severus, with Sirius and Remus across from them. Severus began handing out the tea as Cassidy spoke.

"Sirius, I know you want answers, and that patience is a virtue that you clearly do not have, but there was absolutely no reason for you to raise your voice at Harry. If you want, I will explain, since Harry looks like he's gonna be sick, and Draco looks like he's gonna pass out if they even attempt to try."

Everyone in the room, except Harry, Draco, and Severus, nodded. This was going smoother than she thought.

"Okay. Remus, Sirius, remember yesterday when I read Harry's tea-leaves? One of them was a guitar, meaning romance on the horizon. It turns out that Harry fancied Draco, and vice versa. Sev and I just found out earlier today. Apparently, Harry and Draco were having a snogging session and were interrupted by Draco's father, and his companion… er, I'm sorry, I didn't catch you name."

"I am Lord Voldemort."

Cassidy raised one eye brow, then shrugged.

"It's not something a father is happy to walk in on. Mr. Malfoy wanted to curse Harry into the next century."

Cassidy smiled brightly as she stood up from her seat.

"Now, everyone's up-to-date on Harry's love life. On to the next subject."

Everyone snapped their heads to face Cassidy. They all thought the explanation would take a lot longer, but they didn't know Cassidy very well; she was very blunt, always to the point, and made a long story short.

"I've got some good news to share, and Sev already knows. The healers ran a few additional tests on me this morning. Werewolf pregnancies are accelerated compared to a normal human pregnancy. I'm due to give birth around Halloween. Sev and I are expecting twins, one boy and one girl. Thank goodness for that miracle, too. It means I only have to get pregnant this one time."

Everyone was stunned into silence; not even the wind seemed to be blowing outside.

"Also, this whole thing puts us in a bit of a dilemma. Mr. Malfoy is worried about the end of the Malfoy line, and Harry's really the only one to continue the Potter line, since by werewolf technicality, I am now a Snape, and therefore the children are, too."

Lucius decided to speak up in that moment.

"Your brother and my son are together now, so only one line is going to continue."

Cassidy smirked down at Severus.

"I have a solution to that. Apparently, male pregnancy potions are basically nonexistent here in the U.K., but they are quite common over in America. Solves that problem, but leave us with the problem of the family names. Unless my children are born with the last name Potter-Snape, and Harry and Draco's children with the last name Potter-Malfoy or Malfoy-Potter, the Potter name basically dies."

The silence that followed was thick enough to cut with a knife. No student at any of the magic schools should know about male pregnancy potions until just before they take their N.E.W.T.s in their seventh year, so the fact that Cassidy did know was quite unnerving. Cassidy noticed their unease, and had a feeling as to what the adults were thinking.

"Yeah, I know that I shouldn't know about those types of potions yet, but… because of my excellent grades in Potions, my old Potions professor gave me permission to browse through the restricted section of the school's library. I was reading about male-only potions, and I came across them. Glad I did, too. Otherwise, it's the end of two very old wizarding families."

Smiling at her brother, Cassidy left her seat and walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen, returning moments later with the gift that Draco had delivered for Voldemort earlier that day.

"Sev told me that this was a gift for me. Who is it from?"

Voldemort raised his hand slightly. At Harry's suspicious glare, he began to explain.

"Mr. Potter, I have found that it has become custom for me, and my followers, to present a gift to the mother of the children of one of my Death Eaters. I have made it a sort of tradition to make sure that the gift works for both the mother and the child. Of course, now I'll need to go and get another one. I'm not completely heartless, like you've been lead to believe."

Both Harry and Sirius snorted. Of course, neither of them would believe the Dark Lord. Cassidy looked at her brother.

"Harry, you know, it won't kill you to get to know the man. He seems nice enough to me."

"Cass, the night our parents were murdered by him, he tried to kill me. And at the end of my first year, my second year, my fourth year, and back when we took our O.W.L.s. Yes, I would kill me to try and get to know Voldemort. He's made it his life's goal to kill me and take over the wizarding world. He is most definitely not _nice_."

Cassidy stared at her brother, anger in her eyes.

"You are a very poor judge of character, aren't you? Get to know him. You'll see. AND DON'T CALL ME 'CASS'!"

This last sentence shocked even Voldemort. _'For such a small and soft-spoken girl, her voice sure packs a punch when she's angry. I feel sorry for Severus.' _The red-eyed man looked over at Harry, and saw the boy trembling, trying to disappear under the table, without much luck, since the tabletop was made of clear glass. Chuckling, the Dark Lord turned to face Cassidy again.

"Miss Potter, why don't you open the present? I'm fairly certain that you'll like it very much."

Cassidy nodded, still fuming over the nickname that her brother had dared to use. Pulling carefully at the shiny blue ribbon, which she had a habit of saving, her eyes traveled across the table to meet with Severus', and getting an encouraging nod, she moved on to delicately pull the sparkly pink paper off the box. Opening the box, Cassidy gasped at the gift.

It was a three-piece set: a white rocking chair with light yellow padding, a white changing table with a pale yellow changing pad, and a white bassinet on wheels with pastel yellow bedding in it. The set was obviously shrunk so that they could fit into the box, though a weightless charms hadn't been placed on the items, since the whole box clearly weighed about twenty-five pounds.

"It's perfect, sir. Yellow is a color that is commonly used for both boys and girls, which is perfect, since we can't paint the nursery pink and blue. Thank you. I love it, and I'm sure that the babies will love it, too."

Harry stared at his sister in shock, as did Sirius. No Potter in their right mind would be quite so civil with the Dark Lord, and Malfoy's, or Severus. When Voldemort nodded his head slightly at Cassidy, Harry's expression went from slightly shocked back to suspicious. It really didn't help his frustration that Cassidy and Severus forbid anyone from fighting, but it was most likely for the sake of the babies.

"Harry, please stop being rude to our other guests. I am aware that Voldemort is the reason for us being orphans, but I was raised to never hold grudge, no matter what had happened in the past. Can you at least pretend to be civil? Stress on me is not good for the twins."

Harry and Voldemort looked at each other before nodding, a silent agreement of putting the war on hold until after Halloween falling between them. After that, the only ones that weren't relaxed were Lucius Malfoy and Sirius Black.

"Severus, I'm gonna go and get started on supper. Anything in particular that you want to eat?"

Severus shook his head, leaving Cassidy to choose the meal. Once the girl had exited the dining room and entered the kitchen, Severus sighed, dropping his head down onto the table.

"Black, Lupin, Harry, none of you will tell anyone in the Order about this, I hope? I don't think that anyone would believe you, but just to be safe, keep it secret. Draco, Harry, why don't you take Black and Lupin, and show them the nursery so far."

The two teens and the former Gryffindors left the dining room and headed upstairs. Severus turn to look at Voldemort the moment it was safe.

"My Lord, thank you for the gift, but you won't need to get another one. I have repaired the nursery furniture that was used when I was an infant, and Draco has been painting them and putting them back together. I wanted to ask, what was the look that was shared by you and Mr. Potter?"

"Oh, we mentally chatted over the fact that since Cassidy is pregnant, the war shall be put on hold until after she gives birth around Halloween. It was an agreement between us. That's all."

Severus nodded, excusing himself to help Cassidy in the kitchen, leaving Voldemort and Lucius to sit and think. The day had been very strange for all of them, indeed, but Severus was the one that nearly had a heart attack with every surprise bit of information he had received throughout the day.

And it was only the beginning.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: My apologies for not updating for so long. I started college, and I just haven't found the time to work on any of my stories. Thank you for being so patient with me!

_In the kitchen:_

Cassidy stood by the stove, stirring the fettuccine noodles in on pot, and stirring the alfredo sauce in another pot. In a frying pan, there were bite-sized chunks of chicken, with authentic Italian seasonings, sizzling on the stove. In the oven, she had fresh garlic bread baking. The aroma in the kitchen greatly reminded Severus of one of the Potions Masters' conferences that he had attended in Italy. It was amazing that his mate was able to create Italian dishes without the need of a recipe.

"Wow, Cassidy. Whatever you're making sure smells appetizing. What are you all making?"

Cassidy looked at Severus and shrugged.

"I'm making 'Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo' and garlic bread. One thing you'll find out about me is that my favorite type of food is Italian, mainly pasta dishes, though."

Severus nodded and moved over to the pantry, where he had several bottles of wine that he had gotten from all over the world. After grabbing a very expensive bottle of Chianti he had gotten from Italy nearly a decade before, he was turning to exit the pantry and enter the kitchen, when Cassidy called to him.

"Remember, Severus, I can't drink wine. Do you have any sparkling juices or flavored water?"

Severus sighed for a moment, then turned to walked back into the pantry. On a wall across from the wines, there were several bottles of Aquafina Sparkling Berry Burst on three whole shelves. Grabbing a bottle, Severus finally left the pantry, closing the door silently, despite the fact that he was fuming slightly on the inside. Placing the bottle of wine and the bottle of water on the counter, Severus turned to look at Cassidy. She had her mother's gifts when it came to working in the kitchen, which wasn't really a surprise. Lily had been able to do almost anything.

"Severus, can you go set the table? Remember, there are eight of us eating."

"Yes, Cassidy." Just before reaching for the china, he froze and looked at Cassidy. "Wait a minute, this is my house, so why are you ordering me about?"

Cassidy just smiled over her shoulder and went back to making dinner.

"I'm busy making the food, and I'm carrying your children, therefore, I have the right to have you do things for me."

Severus just grumbled as he went back to doing as Cassidy asked. When he reentered the dining room, Lucius and Voldemort were trying not to laugh, seeing as how they heard everything that was said in the kitchen.

"I see the little woman has already begun her obedience training for you."

Severus glared at Lucius for that comment. "It's not funny. It's my house and they're my rules, and now, she's taking over."

"I heard that, Severus, and if you want to eat, quit complaining. You only have to put up with it for three months."

His head bowed, Severus laid out the tableware, which was the most expensive set he owned since he had inherited the set from his great-aunt when she died several years before. He figured that this particular set was appropriate for the evening, since his aunt had gotten it when she had taken a vacation to Italy a couple of years before she died.

Just as Cassidy finished making the dinner, Draco and Harry, and Remus and Sirius came back into the dining room, and tried not to laugh at the depressed and chastised expression on Severus' face. Turning to look at his father, Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Cassidy just ordered Severus around, and in his own house, so he's not very happy at the moment."

At the moment, Cassidy entered the room carrying a bread basket filled with slices of garlic bread and the bottle of Chianti, along with her bottle of Aquafina Sparkling. Smiling at her brother, she turned and went back to the kitchen to get the main part of the meal. She had already an idea for a dessert. While searching the freezer, she had come across a large, unopened container of Berry Romantica Gelato, which, upon investigating, she found had recently come from Italy.

When all the food was out on the table, everyone sat down and Cassidy motioned for everyone to dish up and for Severus to pour the Chianti into the wine glasses that accompanied the Italian china set. One bite, and everyone melted into the taste of Cassidy's home-cooking. Harry secretly admitted that Cassidy's cooking was in the same league as Molly Weasley's cooking.

Voldemort was the first to comment on the pasta dish. "Miss Cassidy, where did you learn to cook like this? Surely, you didn't learn at home."

Cassidy blushed slightly before she answered. "Actually, no, I did not learn at home. Last summer, my cousin, Bianca and I spent a month in Venice, Italy, where we stayed with a few relatives of Bianca's mother, Rebecca. It was perfect timing, since it was Uncle Michael and Aunt Rebecca's anniversary, and they had been planning on taking a second honeymoon. This was the dish they had made the first night, and it quickly became my favorite, so Rebecca's older brother, Nicholas, taught me how to make it, along with other Italian foods. He runs an Italian restaurant, with his wife, Nicole, and his twin brother, Nicholai, in the heart of the city, and it's one of the most reviewed and expensive places to eat."

Everyone stared at her silently for several minutes before collecting their jaws from the floor. Lucius was the first to speak. "Is this restaurant called 'Pasta Magnifico'?"

Cassidy flashed a smile at Lucius. "Yes. I take it you've been there, Mr. Malfoy?"

Lucius nodded and explained that he had taken his wife there for their anniversary back in March, and again for her birthday in May. "I even met with Nicholas, who had prepared our anniversary dinner. Sophisticated man, he is. Even offered a discount when we went back for Narcissa's birthday."

"Yes, Nicholas is very charming. His wife is wonderful, as well. His brother is very funny when he tells stories about when they were kids, and all the trouble they used to get into. I was planning on going there this summer to learn how to make a dessert call 'Tiramisu'. It's one of their best desserts."

From that moment on, Cassidy and Lucius continued discussing their favorite dishes from Pasta Magnifico, and about the different sites they had seen while in Venice, leaving everyone else to their own talks or just to eat.

When dinner was finished, Cassidy literally ordered Severus to assist her in clearing the food away so that everyone could have dessert. Entering the kitchen, Severus asked Cassidy what she had planned for dessert, and her answer was to pull out the container of gelato, which had Severus muttering something along the lines of 'I should've known she'd find that.' Cassidy filled the bowls, also from the china set, and had Severus carry them all on a tray into the dining room, where, once again, Cassidy and Lucius started discussing the different flavors of gelato and which ones were their favorite.

When dessert was over, Cassidy ushered everyone into the living room for coffee and tea, while she had Severus help her with the clean-up in the kitchen. "You know, Cassidy, dinner was delicious, and you seemed to have gotten both the Dark Lord, and Lucius to loosen up. Maybe we should make these dinners a weekly thing. Even your brother had no problem with the Dark Lord while we ate, which is rather shocking."

"Maybe we should. I also know how to make French and Russian meals, and I can make fresh fruit juice from scratch, both full of pulp and pulp-free. Uncle Michael says that my mom was a wonderful cook as well and that I got her gifts. So, shall we join the others?"

Severus nodded and the two of them left the kitchen and returned to the living room.

_**A/N: Again, so sorry about the late update. Classes just ended for the winter and I've been coming up with ideas for my stories. Thank you for being so patient. Also, for those who think my chapters are short, I try to reach at least a thousand words per chapter. I'll try to make them longer, but I've got five stories that I'm working on, and only so much imagination and drive.**_


	16. POLL ALERT!

**A/N: This is not an update, though I will be updating soon. I just wanted to let my readers know that I have put up a poll on my profile page, asking which set of names I should have Cassidy and Severus name the twins when they are born. The poll will be open until Thursday, March 31, 2011.**

**A/N: Since I was unable to post my poll alert until 4/6/2011 or 4/7/2011, due to technical problems, I will be leaving the poll open until 4/13/2011. Thank you.**


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: So sorry for taking so long about updating. Spring Semester of college and heading to Las Vegas for Spring Break took up most of my time. But now that the semester is over, I can get back to my stories.

The next few weeks passed with very few problems. Severus and Cassidy had the six other males over each week for dinner, and Lucius and Sirius began to accept that Harry and Draco were dating. Voldemort showered the mother-to-be with gifts every day that he was at Spinner's End, which was every other day. Not all of the gifts were for the babies, of course. Kitchen equipment, such as blenders, food processors, cook books, and even cookie cutters were among the gifts just for Cassidy.

Narcissa insisted that Draco and Severus bring Harry and Cassidy to the manor for a small dinner party the night before the teens left for school. She had even extended the invitation to her cousin, Sirius, and a guest of his choice. Cassidy had only agreed to go after Narcissa agreed to let her cook the meal. She didn't think it was proper for a young lady, especially one that was expecting, to cook a meal if one had house-elves to do it instead. Lucius managed to convince her that Cassidy's cooking was the best, and that it might even be better than the feasts the house-elves made.

The only help Cassidy asked of the house-elves was to bring the food out to the table in the informal dining room of Malfoy Manor. Chicken Cordon Bleu was the main feature of the dinner, with home-made chicken stuffing, and a side of real mashed potatoes and gravy. While everyone else had white wine with their meal, Cassidy, being pregnant, had to drink Welsh's Sparkling White Grape juice.

Narcissa had, of course, been sceptical that this one girl could make a dinner to satisfy her like the house-elves did, but this dinner changed her thoughts after the first bite of everything.

"I must admit, Cassidy, that I didn't believe that you could make such a meal, and all by yourself at that, but you have truly turned my opinion around."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. I must confess that I have never made Chicken Cordon Bleu before. I am just as amazed as you are that it turned out so well."

Narcissa smiled at the girl. "Please, call me Naricssa, or Cissy. And it didn't turn out well. It turned out perfectly."

Cassidy blushed lightly at the comment, but smiled all the same.

When the dinner was over, Cassidy asked the house-elves to clear the table and to set it for dessert. In the kitchen, she had prepared coffee for the men and tea for herself and Narcissa. Carrying the dessert back into the dining room, with a couple of house-elves carrying the drinks, Cassidy smiled and said that this dessert was her specialty, and that she had made it in honor of the last night of the summer holidays.

A graham cracker crust on the bottom of the pan, followed by a mix of cream cheese and half a container of whipped cream, then a layer of lemon pudding, and the remaining whipped cream, with finely crushed pieces of lemon drops sprinkled on top.

One bite of the dessert, and everyone at the table moaned in appreciation of the fine taste of the dessert. Cassidy grinned at the fact that Severus, Harry, and Voldemort blanched after she told them that she knew about Dumbledore and his lemon drops and so added them in to spite him. She knew that Harry and Severus never ate any of the drops he offered them and Voldemort despised the man.

When dessert was over, Cassidy had the house-elves clean up the table, and assembled dinner party moved into the lounge for move private small talk and more serious conversations.

With it nearly time to go to sleep, everyone bade each other good night and went their separate ways, until Christmas break, during which Narcissa insisted on have a party, for both Christmas and New Year's.

_**A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I've been busy moving, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on the stories. But, hey, an update is an update. Thank you for being patient!**_


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